The Conqueror
by TeenyTinyGee
Summary: Gabriel the conqueror refuses to admit that he's taken on more than he can manage with his wife-to-be, the charismatic, sweet and free-willed Lady Brennan. His mission was to conquer the duchy, move his people in, and secure his place as the new Duke, but it seems like his new wife has other plans for his life.
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've had the chance to sit and just write (oh the joys of too much school work). I've had this idea running through my mind for some time now, and I've finally got the time to work on it. So here it is...Hope you all enjoy. Please leave a review after reading (constructive criticism is welcome). I will be updating regularly, at least once a week. Thank you for reading =)

**CHAPTER 1  
**

Seizing the castle had been easy. Apparently the rumors about Richard, the Duke of Isenland, had been true. Richard had been so sure that no one would ever try to conquer his duchy that there had been very little security around the town, and even less around the castle.

Gabriel, the conqueror, smiled to himself. He had come up with backup plans for every possible thing that could go wrong, but he needn't have bothered. Richard had given up, albeit not without trying to pull every string he could, and having them cut one by one by Gabriel. In the end, he had even agreed to give his daughter's hand in marriage to Gabriel after stepping down from power, which would seal Gabriel's status as the new Duke of Isenland.

A marriage would guarantee that the King could not attack him to reclaim the duchy from enemy hands. Because that was exactly what Gabriel was. His people were seen as the enemies of this country: a vicious, barbaric warrior race that only kept away because of a weak peace treaty signed between their king and his. But even a king could not go against a royal marriage.

Gabriel sighed in annoyance as he realized that his men were taking far too long to retrieve the girl. Brennan was her name, and quite a strange one it was. From the rumors he had heard, she was Isenlandian to the core. And it was common knowledge that the people of Isenland spoke in strange slangs, partied far too much, and if Gabriel was to be a bit harsh, they were somewhat silly. But, it didn't matter to him if his wife-to-be was all of these things because she was just a tool for his success, and everyone knew that women didn't really have positions of power; they were just figureheads.

For some time, after the initial takeover, the castle had fallen back into silence as Gabriel's men took their positions sealing it off. Until now. Out of nowhere, shouts could be heard echoing down the corridor outside of the large room where Gabriel waited with the Duke and Duchess, a few of his men, and the servants who lived in the castle.

"You think you're so tough now that you've disarmed me?" a young woman was yelling. "Why don't you give me back my sword so I can kick your ass properly?"

A few of the servants tittered, the Duke unsuccessfully tried to turn his quick chuckle into a cough, and the Duchess shook her head and murmured, "Oh dear," letting out a long-suffering sigh.

Gabriel stood at attention as the door opened. His jaw struggled not to drop at the scene in front of him. The two men he had sent to fetch Brennan were carrying her, quite literally between them. She was kicking and tugging every which way, yelling at them to let her go.

"Ow! Did you just pinch me?" Eric, the man on the right cried. he winced in pain.

"There's plenty more where that came from!" Brennan yelled. Her long black hair was flying everywhere as she struggled to get free, and it whipped Eric in the face.

Ivan, the man on the left, was sporting a fresh gash on his left leg. "Stop!" he shouted, attempting to regain control of the situation.

Before Brennan could reply, she caught sight of her parents, the servants and guards, and Gabriel. Blazing bluish-green eyes locked onto Gabriel, taking in the fact that he was the one in charge. There was a split second of no movement, in which Gabriel allowed himself to begin to relax, and then Brennan was attempting to run at him, looking very much as if she intended to kill him.

"You! You think you can just barge in here and take over my home, you bastard? I'll kill you myself!"

"Will someone calm her down?" Gabriel asked the room in general. He was sure his men had had enough, and frankly, the girl looked a bit insane.  
He wondered if this kind of unladylike behavior was an everyday occurrence.

The Duke got up immediately and walked over to his daughter with a softened expression on his face. It was obvious that he doted on her regularly. 'So,' thought Gabriel. 'She can't be this mad all the time if he loves her so much. But then again, you never know with these people.' He mentally decided to reserve his judgement for later.

"Honey, I need you to calm down please," Richard said softly to his daughter. She went limp immediately. "If you come and sit down, I'll explain everything to you."

Gabriel signaled for his men to release Brennan, and watched cautiously as she allowed her father to lead her to an empty seat. She listened quietly for the most part, only occasionally shooting Gabriel glares that could have slain a dragon.

The Duke explained how he had tried to bargain with Gabriel for Isenland and had failed, and how Gabriel had threatened to kill all the citizens if the Duke refused. Cue evil glare from Brennan. And lastly, she was informed of her arranged marriage.

At this point, she stood up and marched right up to Gabriel, sticking her face right up to his even though she barely reached his shoulder in height. He resisted the urge to move back at this blatant disregard of his personal space, and met her gaze evenly. His men moved to grab her again, but Gabriel gave a small shake of his head to stop them.

Brennan's pretty face was flushed, and her eyes had darkened in anger. She certainly was beautiful looking at him like that. He half-expected her to start yelling again, and he braced himself for it, but when she spoke her voice was low and hard. "I don't know why you think you can get away with this, but I can assure you that there is no way in hell that I will ever marry you. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like a private word with my parents so we can all get past this foolish invasion marriage business."

"As you wish my lady," Gabriel replied, knowing very well that his plan was foolproof.

He ordered his men to remove the servants to another room and left the three royals inside to talk, while he waited outside the door with Ivan and Eric. They gave him a detailed report of how Brennan had come charging around the corner from her room, fully armed, and cut Ivan in the leg. It had taken a while for the two experienced fighters to disarm her, and even then, she had not stopped fighting them.

"I wouldn't underestimate her Gabe," Eric said to him. "She's got a little warrior spirit in her. Too dangerous of a wife for me."

"Nothing I can't handle," Gabriel replied confidently. True, Brennan was not what he expected in many ways, but women were easily handled and Gabriel had more than enough experience to put her in her rightful place.

From inside the room, arguing could be heard, although no one was yelling. The phrase "true love" was repeated quite often, and Gabriel wondered exactly what was going on. It seemed like the marriage itself was what bothered Brennan the most, which was a surprise to Gabriel. Arranged marriages were commonplace, especially amongst royals. Surely, this girl had not expected anything different. She would be getting a high dose of reality soon enough.

The argument died down, and the door opened soon afterward. Brennan came out quietly, and Gabriel noticed how much smaller she looked than before in her nightgown and robe, with her feet bare on the stone floors. Now that she was no longer fighting, she seemed much younger. When her eyes met his, however, they were still throwing daggers.

"It appears that the marriage is still happening," she said in a clear voice, which Gabriel thought was probably closest to what she normally sounded like. "Now, if you don't mind, I will go wallow in the pits of despair, and pray that when I wake up, this will all have been a horrible nightmare. Good day to you."

And she turned and walked quietly down the hall as if nothing had happened, leaving Gabriel at a loss for words. "Guard her at all times," he managed to say to Eric. And he headed back into the room to discuss things with the Duke.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone! Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter. Here's another one...Enjoy =)

**CHAPTER 2  
**

Brennan had always had trouble falling asleep. The doctor had determined that her overactive imagination was her own worst enemy in this regard. Her brain was simply too busy thinking and imagining to let her go to sleep. And when she did, her dreams were usually vivid and detailed.

The lack of sleep no longer bothered her. In fact, she preferred to give her imagination free reign at nighttime. Often, she would lay on her chaise on the balcony of her bedroom and just dream while she looked at the stars or out over Isenland and the sea. It was the first time in over ten years that not being able to sleep was making her feel wretched. She was, true to her word, praying to wake up and find that the invasion had been a story made up in her crazy dreams. But, of course, being awake took away from the validity of such a theory.

She heaved a great sigh, one that would have made her mother proud. The Duchess Iliana was a big fan of long sighs and other over-dramatic reactions (as long as they stayed in the ladylike range, which Brennan's usually didn't). This was not to imply that Brennan usually carried on with overdramatics, but if it was something she strongly believed in, she did tend to get a bit passionate.

"Oh my God," she murmured to herself, recalling her behavior earlier. "I must have looked totally crazy."

But a second later, the potential embarrassment was replaced by self-righteous anger. That Gabriel jerk had deserved every moment. A brilliant thought crossed her mind. What if she was to act that way all the time? Surely, he would give up on this marriage. Another second later, her face fell again as she remembered the conversation with her parents. Gabriel had come here with the express intent to marry her to secure his position. According to her father, their conversation had gone something like this:

Richard: "The King will move to reclaim the duchy. Your men won't stand a chance against an entire army."

Gabriel: "The King cannot move against me if I am married to your daughter."

Richard: "Why in the hell would I marry my daughter to you?"

Gabriel: "Would you rather I killed your daughter? Or everyone in Isenland? I am merely after a place to settle my people so there would be no need to keep yours. You would be making it easier for me since I wouldn't even need to build any new houses."

Richard (sarcastically): "Did you run out of land in your country?"

And on and on the pointless argument had gone. Even if the king were to help, his army would not reach Isenland before the rest of Gabriel's people arrived from their country. And if the rumors were true, most of them were warriors so the King's army wouldn't stand a chance anyway.

All that mattered was that Gabriel had gotten exactly what he came for: Isenland, the title of Duke and insurance in the form of Brennan. She wondered vaguely what had happened to Gabriel's land to cause him to want to take hers. True, Isenland was closest to the border, but why move all his people if he already had been their leader in his land? If there ever came a time when she didn't hate him with every fiber of her being, she would be sure to ask. At the moment though, he was the bane of her existence.

Her parents believed in true love, and a love marriage had been the one thing Brennan was sure of. Her parents had given her the chance to be able to meet her soul mate, and although she hadn't yet done so, she was positive that Gabriel wasn't him. He was the exact opposite of her dream guy. Her soul mate was a man who was kind to everyone, and who didn't care about money or power. He would love the outdoors and take pleasure in simple things like a cool breeze, a starlit sky or a good book. He would not be a huge brute with unruly blond hair, steely gray eyes, and a face that never smiled. He would not be Gabriel.

The sun slowly rose above Isenland, bathing the sky in splashes of pink, orange and purple. Brennan watched as the inhabitants emerged, one by one, out of their houses to get ready for a new day, with no idea that everything had changed in the castle overnight.

A knock sounded on Brennan's bedroom door. "Come in," she called, getting up from her chaise and heading back into the room.

The door opened to reveal Anna, her maidservant and good friend. She had seen all that had happened in the room the night before since she lived in the castle, but they had not been able to speak at the time.

"Oh Brennan," she said, coming over to hug her. She'd been the source of many a comforting hug over the years, since she was really the only one besides Brennan's parents and a few select friends who ever came into her room.

"Are you alright Anna?" Brennan inquired. "Did they hurt any of you?"

"No, we're all okay. Joshua did try to fight back though, and he almost got punched in the face," Anna said, trying not to giggle.

Joshua was a stable boy who was enamored with Anna. No doubt he had tried to appear strong and brave in her eyes, but had failed. He had always been on the skinny side, which was what had landed him the job in the stables in the first place. He was great at taking care of the horses, and the horses didn't care about his awkwardness.

"What're you going to do Brennan?" Anna asked her. "I know you wouldn't want to marry that horrible man."

"I've got no other choice. The only thing I can do is run away, but I can't bring myself to leave Isenland, and all of you, to his rule."

"You're a brave woman, always have been. Maybe he won't turn out to be all that bad."

"I hope so," Brennan replied, but she highly doubted it.

Anna then went on to explain that Brennan was to meet her parents and Gabriel for breakfast, after which her father would publicly announce the takeover and impending marriage to the people. With one last sigh and a big headache, Brennan took a bath in the adjoining bathroom and got dressed in a plain ankle-length short-sleeved purple dress, and sandals. As she plaited her hair into a side braid, Anna packed a bag for her.

It was nearing summer in Isenland, and it tended to get hottest around midday. It was also a Saturday, and Saturdays for Brennan were spent mostly in town amongst her people. Today she was sure that everyone would be coming up to ask her about the invasion, and she mentally prepared herself for the questions.

Once she was ready, she headed downstairs to the dining room for breakfast, trying to ignore the fact that the guard named Eric was following her around.

"Look," she began, determined to make it less awkward for them both. "I apologize for attacking you last night. You can understand, I'm sure, that I was defensive of my home."

"Of course, my lady," he replied. "There is no need to apologize."

"Brennan," she replied. "No one calls me my lady around here."

"Alright, Brennan," he replied. "I will, in return, try to be discreet about following you around. I'm sure it won't be for much longer. Gabriel is just afraid that you might try to do something mad, but you didn't hear that from me."

Brennan had to smile at that one. She found her usual seat next to her father taken by Gabriel, and sat next to her mother instead, glaring at him after greeting her parents.

"Good morning to you, my lady," he said pleasantly. His eyes twinkled with secret laughter. "I hope your dreams were to your liking."

'The nerve of this man!' Brennan thought, seething with anger. Gabriel was referring to her wish that she would wake up and find that this had all been a horrible nightmare. She wanted to start yelling at him again, but he seemed in such a good mood that she was sure he would only laugh at her more. No, she would take the high road instead.

"They were, sir," she replied innocently. "I dreamed that you were kicked in the face by my horse."

"Brennan!" her mother admonished. Brennan looked at her father just in time to catch his wink.

She shrugged and dug into her breakfast instead, deciding that she would ignore Gabriel for the rest of the day. Her words were not to be wasted on him.

The door swung open suddenly. "Morning people!" a jubilant voice rang out.

Iliana groaned in a ladylike fashion, and Gabriel choked on his food. "Seth!" Brennan exclaimed happily. Suddenly the day was looking less dreary.

"Hello Seth," Richard greeted.

"Who are you?" Gabriel demanded once he had stopped coughing. Seth helped himself to some breakfast and plopped down next to Brennan who squeezed his arm in a hug.

"Who's this guy?" Seth asked, referring to Gabriel. "And what's with all those strange looking guards? They wouldn't let me in. I had to use another passage."

"This is Gabriel," Brennan explained. "He invaded here last night and took over. I'm being forced to marry him."

"Wow, I missed a lot," Seth said. he stretched his hand across the table to Gabriel. "Nice to meet you. Or maybe not so nice. I'm Seth, one of Bren's best friends."

Gabriel ignored his hand. "How did you get past the guards?" he asked.

"I didn't," Seth replied, taking a big bite of eggs. "I thought it was too much trouble to have to fight this early in the morning. I am a bit hungover, if you know what I mean. Can't remember half of last night. Anyway, I used a secret passage." He shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Secret passage?" Gabriel asked. "There are secret passages?"

"This place is crawling with them," Richard took the liberty of explaining. "I have a map if you'd like."

Gabriel looked aghast at the thought of secret passages. Clearly, he hadn't even considered such a thing in his calculations. What if someone had gotten out secretly and were now on their way to warn the king?

"Not everyone knows about them," Seth said, reassuringly, reading his thoughts.

"Don't reassure him," Brennan whispered, not so quietly.

Turning to Gabriel, Richard asked, "Do they not have secret passages in the castles in your land?"

"No," was the reply.

"Bo-o-ring," Seth said. "You should let me show you around the place after breakfast."

To no one's surprise, Gabriel refused the offer, claiming that he would be too busy.

After breakfast, everyone went out to the front of the castle, and the bell was rung to call the people. Isenland was a pretty big duchy compared to most, and it was surrounded by a high fence on three sides. On the fourth side, it was bordered by the sea. There was only one gate, on the opposite side of the fence from the sea, to let people in and out. And occasionally, traders would arrive by boat or ship on the sea side. No one had ever really attacked from the sea side before, and even Gabriel and his soldiers had come in from over the fence rather than by ship, as the shallow water made it hard to bring ships close to the shore.

The land itself was fairly grassy and hilly, with the castle being on top of the highest hill in the center of Isenland. It was a smaller castle than most Brennan had seen in other duchys, but it was the best one in her opinion. The castle was designed to let the sea air blow through with plenty of windows and a covered porch all the way around it. Beyond that was a beautiful gardened courtyard, and then stone steps led down the hill into Isenland in the front of the castle.

It was in this courtyard that people were slowly gathering to hear the Duke's announcement. Brennan leaned on the porch railing as she waited, reveling in the feeling of the breeze and sunshine on her face. A small smile crossed her face. Standing like this, she could almost imagine that things were still the same.

"So you are capable of smiling," Gabriel's voice murmured next to her ear.

She scowled at him, and moved away, eyes searching the crowd for her other best friend Lily. She finally spotted her and they exchanged waves. Lily gave her a concerned look. The townspeople were talking amongst themselves, and the muttering grew louder as Gabriel's soldiers advanced, all fifty he had brought with him, through the crowd and down the stone steps. Brennan could see them move out around the town, and assume positions on every street and near the fence.

"People of Isenland," Richard began, spreading his arms wide. Everyone fell silent immediately and Brennan marveled at her father's ability to do that every time. "I bring you important news today. Last night, our castle was seized by this man, Gabriel Kendrick and his soldiers. He has claimed the duchy, and I will be stepping down from my position."

Angry shouting broke out immediately. The curses flew at Gabriel, who remained unfazed. "Now, now everyone," Richard went on, waving his arms again. Everyone fell silent again. "I have been assured that you all will be respected and treated the same way by this man, as you have been by me. None of the laws will be changed. No one will be harmed, unless you foolishly try to fight back. I gravely advise you not to. You know that his people are great warriors, and we are a simple people who prefer to live in peace. So I ask of you all now, in my final days of being your Duke, to accept that this is how things are going to be from now on, and there is no changing it."

The crowd was still restless, but not as angry as before. Isenlandians truly were simple peaceful people, and Brennan knew they all loved her father and would respect his wishes. "Gabriel's soldiers are now spread throughout the town to ensure that no disagreements break out. His homeland was destroyed, hence this move, and in two weeks time, the rest of his people will be arriving here to settle."

'So that's what happened,' Brennan thought to herself.

"How many?" someone shouted from the crowd.

"Two hundred and fifty," Richard replied. There was a moment of silence as this news sunk in. Brennan was glad her parents had already told her about it the night before. Two hundred and fifty in addition to the fifty that were already here, was a lot of extra people.

There was suddenly a lot of shouting. "We can manage that!" "Two fifty? Peh. That's nothing." "Someone can stay at my house!" "I'm okay with it if you're okay with it Bob." "My cafe needs more workers, if anyone's interested. Just putting that out there!"

Brennan couldn't resist looking over at Gabriel and was pleased to see that he was in shock. He had come prepared for retaliation, not kindness. And her people had stepped up to the challenge, and proven their hospitality. Sure, there would be a few who would have a problem with the new settlers, but they were a tiny few and she was sure her father had already warned Gabriel about which ones tended to cause trouble.

"Thank you, everyone," Gabriel spoke suddenly as Richard smiled proudly at his people. "I cannot thank you enough for offering your home to us. I will do my best by you all."

The people erupted into cheers and Brennan scowled. Great, now they were going to love him.

"We will be going through Isenland today to scope out land for new houses, and if anyone would like to volunteer with the building efforts, that will be your chance to sign up," Richard cut in. "Which brings me to the final news of the day. Our beloved daughter Brennan will be marrying Gabriel this following Saturday afternoon."

The crowd went crazy with cheers. No one seemed to realize that Brennan was being forced. They probably all assumed that she had been proposed to by Gabriel and had accepted. And that was exactly what she would let them think. She couldn't bear it if the people she loved so much pitied her, and it wouldn't help to give them a reason to hate Gabriel too, even if that was what he deserved. Things were final now, and there was no need to start trouble. She forced a smile to her face as her friends in the crowd yelled, "Woo! Go Brennan!"

Again, Richard cut in, saving her from further embarrassment. "We will be having a feast to celebrate this occasion at five pm on that day. See you all there."

With final cheers, the crowd slowly began to disperse as they went back to their daily tasks. There was nothing like a good party to distract her people and make them happy.

"Well, I'm off," she said to her parents and Gabriel. "You coming Seth?"

He nodded and followed her off into the crowd. Lily was waiting there, and after receiving more congratulatory hugs and handshakes than she could count, the three best friends finally broke away from the pack and made their way down the stone steps, with Lily bashing Gabriel in true best friend fashion, even though she didn't know him.

"I didn't think he was that bad," Seth admitted.

The two girls glared at him. "Who cares how he is?" Lily said. "The point is that Brennan is being forced, and she won't get a chance to find her true love anymore. That's why we hate him."

"Girls," Seth said with a roll of his eyes.

They both playfully punched him on the arms. "Okay, okay I hate him too," he said.

Laughing, they made their way into town.


End file.
